Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Saudi Arabia cruelties; Uighurs

5-1-19 Alia al-Hathloul is the sister of Loujain al-Hathloul, a Saudi women's rights activist who has been in prison for almost a year for "aiming to undermine the security, stability and national unity of the kingdom" through contacts with NGOs, journalists and diplomats. Her trial and that of ten other activists is currently taking place in Riyadh. Alia al-Hathloul tells FRANCE 24 that her sister has been tortured and sexually abused during her detention.
https://www.france24.com/en/20190501-interview-alia-loujain-al-hathloul-saudi-arabia-jailed-rights-activist-torture-sexual-abuse
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4-27-19 a new controversy is brewing over one of the kingdom's most controversial practices: Its mass-beheadings of men convicted of 'terrorism' charges, typically members of the Shiite minority living in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has long practiced execution by beheading. But this year the mass extermination of 37 of mostly Shiite men this week provoked condemnation from the UN and other human rights organizations, as several teenage boys were executed for crimes as seemingly petty a sending Whatsapp messages about government demonstrations.

One particularly disturbing case was recounted in the UK's The Sun tabloid. Abdulkareem al-Hawaj was just just 16 when he was arrested. Just a schoolboy at the time, he was detained and accused of being a "terrorist" for sending texts online about an anti-government demonstration.

Before making his 'confession', Abdulkareem, a Shiite Muslim who was 21 at the time of his execution, was reportedly brutally tortured. With his hands chained above his head he was beaten and electrocuted. Amnesty International denounced his trial as a farce, since he was denied access to proper defense counsel. Police also reportedly threatened to kill his family if he didn't confess to his crimes.

-Abdulkareem al-Hawaj

But Abdulkareem wasn't the only man executed this week over seemingly minor offenses committed when he was a teenager. Mujtaba al-Sweikat, was a teenager who was set to begin his studies at Western Michigan University when he was arrested for attending an anti-government protest. Then just 17 years old, Sweikat was badly beaten after his arrest, including being repeatedly bludgeoned on the soles of his feet, before he "confessed" to crimes against the state. Human rights organizations said he was tortured and convicted during a "sham trial.” His university tried to intervene, insisting that he had 'great promise', but the government ignored their protests.

Harriet McCulloch, deputy director of Reprieve, a human rights organization, insisted both young men were killed for sharing information about a peaceful anti-government protest.

"Many things can be used to justify a death sentence in Mohammed Bin Salman's Saudi Arabia, including 'disobedience against the King,’" "preparing banners with anti-state slogans" and "incitement via social media" are also offenses that potentially carry the weight of death.

"Mujtaba al-Sweikat and Abdulkarim al-Hawaj were teenagers sharing information about peaceful protests on their mobile phones. Saudi Arabia's western allies must act now, to prevent any more young people being killed for exercising their right to freedom of expression."

Another young man, Munir al-Adam, was just 23 when he was arrested in 2012 at a government checkpoint. During his interrogation his feet were so badly beaten that he was forced to crawl for days. After losing hearing in one of his ears, he was rendered completely deaf after the horrific torture. He told a judge that he agreed to sign the confession because he was exhausted by the brutal and relentless torture.

The 37 murders were carried out in Riyadh, the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, central Qassim province and in the Eastern Province, the home of the Shiite minority. After being beheaded, one of the men was reportedly crucified and his body was put on display as a message to other would-be dissidents. That message? This is what could happen to you and your loved ones if you dare speak out against the crown. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-04-27/saudi-arabia-tortures-and-beheads-16-year-old-sending-whatsapp-message
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NYLaw: Is there any evidence of violence used in these camps in order to “re-educate” the Uighur folks who are unfortunately subjected to internment? How badly are they being treated?

Sigal:Unfortunately, all the evidence suggests that violenceisbeing used and that the conditions in the camps are very bad. There have beenreports oftorture and death. We know this from detainees who’ve made it out of the camps, and from former guards there. You can also get a sense of what goes on in the camps by examining the lists of equipment that the Chinese government agencies order for the camps —in one case, that included 2,768 police batons, 550 electric cattle prods, 1,367 pairs of handcuffs, and 2,792 cans of pepper spray. I haven’t seen the camps firsthand, but I’ve seen video from inside the camps and have seen Chinese government documents, construction bids, social media posts, etc. I really recommend checking out the work of scholars like Adrian Zenz and Timothy Grose, Uighur activists like @uyghur_nur on Twitter, and on-the-ground reporters like Josh Chin of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s one paper by Zenz that I think is especially illuminating.
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/30/18523056/china-uighur-muslims-sigal-samuel-ama
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